Here it is, the long-awaited NZ equivalent of my greatest hit singles/albums of all time list I made a while back. Just like last time, I’ll be presenting this as a countdown, meaning that each entry will be more successful than the last as we go down this list. The main difference here of course is that unlike here in Australia, there was only one chart in NZ over the years, meaning that there won’t be multiple entries from singles/albums from the late 80’s/90’s/00’s like there was on my Australian list. Also, I won’t be including entries from the RIANZ charts given how they didn’t track album sales and that they were based on popular votes rather than sales, that and there was only ever a top twenty which means there’s a good chance they were struggling to fill out the top twenty each week during its run.
#800
Although the lead single to their album "Who can it be now" was a massive flop for these guys in NZ, there was little doubt this second single would be a huge success given how incessantly catchy the song is as well as it being a distinctly Australian track during a time where that was a selling point in pop culture. The song's success would eventually allow the band to crossover internationally later in the year.
#799
This guy had a massive success worldwide thanks to country music still being one of the biggest genres in the music scene at this point in time, it was a huge hit over in NZ for him despite it being only a minor hit at best here in Australia. Like many country artists to make it big over the years, Elvin Bishop remains a legend in the country scene to this day.
#798
Like in Australia, these guys are a one hit wonder in NZ with this cover of the Gloria Jones track, it's a shame none of their other songs managed to become a success outside of their native UK, however they at least did score a string of other hits at home meaning they did fine over there during their heyday.
#797
I get the feeling the kiwis didn't realise that Delta Goodrem was on Neighbours at first given how this was set to be a modest success for her before it skyrocketed to number one fairly late into its chart run, perhaps they were initially interested in this track due to how well it did here in Australia and then realised its true appeal once she appeared on their TV's this year as Nina Tucker.
#796
Well, this was that rare hip hop track that incorporated reggae into its sound, so this was an inevitable hit for Snow in NZ given how both of those genres would permeate in their music scene throughout the decade. Interestingly this wasn't a huge success for Snow in his native Canada, likely due to Canadians having a hard time supporting their local talent at the best of times and that they were less into hip hop than us Aussies at the time.
#795
This may be depressing to learn but as far as the RIANZ charts are concerned, this was the first hit that Stevie Wonder had in NZ as he didn't even have much success on the Listener charts early on in his career. At least he made it big over there with one of his more iconic tracks which of course fueled the success of his album Hotter than July.
#794
Now this is a much more deserving spot for Avril Lavigne's debut single given how I remember it being inescapable here in Australia upon its initial release, goes to show you how much better the NZ charts were back in the day when they can accurately reflect what audiences were consuming at the time. It's little surprise this was a massive worldwide success for her given how earnest it is whilst sounding pleasant to listen to.
#793
Given how this was released on time in NZ compared to it being six months late in Australia, this third single from TLC managed to be a massive success for the trio over there and no doubt helped the album skyrocket up their charts as well. It's a song about self-empowerment and not allowing stigma to get you down, making it well ahead of its time when it comes to social justice.
#792
Although they had moderate success earlier in the decade in NZ with Sports, this was the big breakthrough album that Huey Lewis and the News had over there just like it was for them everywhere else outside of their native America. I'm not sure why their popularity all but faded as the decade was coming to an end but their next album was a massive flop for the band even on the Billboard charts.
#791
This is the final nail in the coffin that was Australian idol, so much so that it was barely a success here in Australia for Stan Walker despite it being a massive success for him in his homeland and the catalyst for a highly successful career over there that he couldn't replicate over here despite initially finding success in our music scene.
#790
I guess the kiwis wanted to atone for them not making the Dead or alive track this song is named after more of a hit back in the 80's given how this managed to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, either that or they were impressed with Kesha's performance on the chorus which makes them a minority given how Kesha herself felt embarrassed to be a part of this project.
#789
So, you remember that melody from "I wanna sex you up" from Color me badd right? Well, it turns out the boy band got that melody from this track from the Brothers Johnson who scored a massive hit with this RNB ballad produced by Quincy Jones before he met the future king of pop on the set of the Wiz. These guys would score a second hit with "Stomp" at the start of the 80's before fading into obscurity.
#788
All the world needed for this title track from Lenny Kravitz's biggest album was an infectious guitar lick to permeate throughout the track, that is except for America where this wasn't even released as a single for some reason which means that it never charted on Billboard for him. It did the album no favours as the second single (which is still to come on this list) and the album also bombed in America.
#787
This was an interesting year for (then) older artists in NZ, we have the second appearance from an artist who only did moderately well here in Australia scoring a massive success in NZ likely through 60's nostalgia already kicking in over there. This did Tom Jones no favours as just like in Australia; he wouldn't touch the charts again over there until his collaboration with Art of noise over a decade later.
#786
This seems like a more fitting placement for Alicia Keys given how it's often regarded as one of the quintessential ballads of the decade worldwide, however I can assure you that this wasn't the case here in Australia where it was only decently successful for the (then) rising star. The kiwis instantly fell in love with this piano ballad which allowed it to live up to the success it achieved in her native America.
#785
Well, this song's success in NZ was inevitable given how Coolio already had success over there with "Fantastic voyage" from earlier in the decade, it came from an (at the time) popular film as well as having lyrics that directly challenge the status quo for poor communities in America which resonated with audiences.
#784
It looks like the kiwis were all over anything that Will I am touched during this point in time as this third single from PCD's debut album proved to be their biggest hit over there because of the presence of the rapper, although it's worth noting that this was much bigger than anything from his own album with BEP from around this time. Still, it's impressive as to how this managed to be so big over there this year.
#783
Given how immensely popular the Sugababes were throughout the decade in NZ and their native UK, it only makes sense that this would remain their biggest hit in both countries as the girls seemed to take a page out of Kelis's book by making a song about sex that most people still believe it isn't about to this day. It was so popular that it even crossed over to Australia where it finally gave the girls a genuine hit here.
#782
There was this heist film this year that starred the likes of Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah that was a huge commercial success worldwide, although the real success came from its soundtrack which was kicked off with this posse cut from Brandy, Tamia, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan each presumably portraying the roles of the four leading actresses from the film.
#781
This was an inevitable hit for Exile in NZ given how inescapable it was throughout the rest of the world, although it led to them having a second hit the following year with "The part of me that needs you most" proving that there was potential for them to be a household name back in the day and not just a one hit wonder.
#780
Evidently this was originally written for TLC in mind, could you imagine if those girls had of sung this classic? In any case, we have the song that made Britney a household name thanks to how catchy it is as well as the lyrics which still resonate with audiences to this day.
#779
Unlike here in Australia where this needed several attempts to make it big, it appears the kiwis were able to instantly recognise this as a classic given how it immediately rose up their charts upon its initial release over there. I'm willing to be this only became a hit down under once we Aussies saw how well this was doing over there and it finally clicking with us.
#778
If you're surprised at how low this iconic album from Prince is on this list, the reason for that is that it was more of a sleeper hit in NZ than it was here in Australia which suggests the kiwis were a bit uneasy with him incorporating hip hop into this album but were eventually won over this year thanks to his world tour he had promoting it.
#777
This also had a bit of a slow rise to its success in NZ like it did here in Australia, although at least here in Australia it was able to spawn a few minor hits as opposed to over there where each of the songs failed to even chart despite airplay being a factor in the NZ charts at the time of its release. Perhaps the kiwis felt that the singles were not worth listening to on their own and could only be enjoyed with the rest of the album.
#776
Well, I did mention that this breakthrough from John Butler Trio here in Australia did manage to achieve massive success over in NZ this year, I'm guessing the kiwis wanted to have at least one album from the Australian alternative scene to be a massive mainstream success and so passed up the opportunity to make the lead single another case of being a bigger hit over there than it was over here as a result.
#775
I told you this was a success for the Motels this year in NZ, arguably more so than it was here in Australia which suggests that the kiwis (at least by this point) were tuning into Countdown as that's the only explanation I have as to how this managed to be a success over there and not in the northern hemisphere.
#774
Well, this was significantly less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, granted its lower appearance on this side of my site does stem from the fact that it was much more of a sleeper hit for Neil Young over there, however it was also due to him just not being as popular in general over there throughout the 70's.
#773
This wasn't as big a hit for Boyz II Men in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis were more interested in making the singles a success over there given how the singles were indeed more popular there than they were here back in the day. It could also be a sense of overexposure as the band would start to see diminishing returns over there as the decade went on.
#772
This is a bit surprising to me given how Bryan Ferry had very little success with his solo material in the 70's in NZ despite two of his four albums being massive hits for him here in Australia, and yet this was a huge hit for him over there despite only being a minor success at best here in Australia for the former Roxy music front man. I guess we Aussies didn't want to hear him give into the trends of the 80's on this album.
#771
This had a bit of a delay to its success in NZ, likely because it was only a sleeper hit here in Australia for the NZ band. It became a more mainstream success a year after its initial release due to the success of the second single but also once they released their second album which allowed the album to rebound on their charts.
#770
As per tradition, Simon and Garfunkel were able to enter a new decade with a highly successful greatest hits package over in NZ proving once more how much the kiwis loved their back catalogue from the 60's. Indeed, this was the duo's most successful album in this regard to the point where they didn't bother releasing another album over there once the 2010's had begun.
#769
Following the slow but staggering success of their debut album from earlier in the decade, Goldenhorse released their second album which might not have reached the dizzying heights of their debut, however, was nonetheless able to keep their momentum going given how popular it was during the midpoint of the decade. Their third album on the other hand was a complete dud for them.
#768
Whilst we Aussies weren't that interested in giving INXS another chance in the spotlight now that they had found a new lead vocalist for their band after toying with several other candidates such as Jon Stevens, the kiwis were much more open to this phase of their career given how this album with their new frontman was a massive success for them over there where it wasn't over here.
#767
This was all set to be a flop for Incubus in NZ just like it was everywhere else in the world, I guess fans of their breakthrough album didn't appreciate them changing up their sound so soon after they gravitated towards their music (their last album sat on shelves for nearly two years unnoticed worldwide.) It was given a second chance over there due to the runaway success of one of its singles there.
#766
Whereas in Australia where the biggest hit that Green Day had was the song that played during the series finale of Seinfeld, in NZ, that honour goes to this lead single and title track from their politically charged album that would eventually be turned into a musical with said musical continuing to polarise fans to this day. This was so popular over there that it even rebounded on their charts when the second single was released.
#765
Well, the kiwis might not have been as impressed with this track about a disco duck (I mean comparatively speaking as this had a lower peak and shorter chart run over there despite having less competition than here in Australia) but at least the idea was amusing enough for them to make it a huge hit around this time for the future radio DJ Rick Dees.
#764
This had the same level of success in NZ as it did here in Australia, proving once again that pulling a song from the shelves doesn't encourage any sales from the album in question as that's something that happened here in Australia with the title track and not over in NZ this year. This would be her last successful album over there until Circus from the other side of the decade.
#763
This was one of two successful albums that the Psychedelic furs managed to achieve in NZ throughout the decade, although I'm guessing this was a success due to the lead single becoming a surprise hit over there despite it being a massive flop even in their native UK at the time. This is one of those bands that have since gained a cult audience since their initial popularity.
#762
This was also a sleeper hit for Bob Seger in NZ, although unlike in Australia where it just lingered in the lower half of our charts long enough to qualify to be on that side of my site, in NZ this skyrocketed up the charts when he almost scored a hit with "We've got tonight" six months into the albums existence. It set the rock and roller up for massive success over there that he only achieved with his next album.
#761
Hip hop was certainly the genre of choice during the midpoint of the decade in NZ, as such we have this breakthrough album from P-Money who gathers some of the biggest names in his local music scene as well as some international artists as well (including Akon of all people) which became a predictable success for the producer thanks to the success of its lead single.
#760
While he had plenty of success with his albums here in Australia, Jack Johnson was never able to score a hit single on our charts like he did over in NZ with this track from his debut album. This was the song that helped said album take off over there which naturally led to us Aussies checking it out to see what all the fuss was about which led to his second album being one of the biggest of the decade here.
#759
There haven't been that many successful albums from Joe Cocker in NZ over the years (at least from what I can tell given how RIANZ didn't cover the early 70's where he was at his commercial peak) so it's somewhat fitting to see this album see massive success over there given how it barely made an appearance on the Australian side of my site.
#758
This was initially a flop for Christina Aguilera the in NZ, likely because the kiwis felt that her time in the spotlight was up despite the lead single being a huge success over there upon its initial release. It was given a second chance this year due to the success of its third single which helped the double album become a massive success for the former Disney star over there.
#757
This was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, it feels curious that the kiwis were initially the ones to allow EDM to have more success there back in the day considering how much bigger the genre and all of its sub genres would become down under as the 90's went on. Snap's success over there was limited to their debut album as once that fell off the charts, they were considered yesterday's news.
#756
This was a massive hit for the Mutton birds in NZ, I'm guessing they were able to benefit from the strong alternative scene that NZ had throughout the 90's much like many other bands that either had more success over there or otherwise failed to score any success here in Australia.
#755
This was the debut album from Bronski beat, and LGBT band from the UK who along with Culture club, helped normalise queer music in the music industry by having songs about love and acceptance without coming off as too flamboyant like the Village people before them. I'm not sure why this album flopped in Australia, although it did very well in NZ and their native UK.
#754
This was an E.P that was released three years prior from Demis Roussos, I guess if we Aussies can give out success for a years old album this year, why can't the kiwis give out success for a years old E.P from the same artist?
#753
I forgot to mention on the Australian side of this site that this debut single from the Veronicas was pulled from shelves to encourage album sales of their debut album, it didn't really matter too much though because it already had a fairly high ranking on that side of my site even though it only appears on one of these lists as opposed to it appearing on two of them on this side of my site.
#752
While this had a bit of a delay to its release in NZ, it proved to be worth it as it was more of a success over there than it was over here for Leann Rimes proving that we Aussies and kiwis were on board with her new pop direction moving forward. I get the feeling was meant to be about her moving on from her country roots which admittedly led to her having a lot of bad memories during her time in the genre.
#751
I guess this is a more reasonable placement for the Prodigy given how it didn't become a hit with separate demographics in NZ like it did here in Australia, although it was a hit the same time as their earlier entry so perhaps the kiwis just wanted to make these guys a household name due to how big they were in Australia and their native UK around this time.
#750
This was all set to be a mere modest success for INXS in NZ, certainly a step back from their previous album in terms of commercial success kind of like it was here in Australia but to a much larger scale. It saw a resurgence in popularity when it became a surprise success in America which allowed it to linger on the lower half of the charts for quite some time and thus making it a huge sleeper success over there.
#749
From what I can gather, Brian Smith was a popular NZ saxophonist who scored a massive hit with this album this year, it appears the kiwis were also into jazz around this time as there were a few albums that found success over there from the genre in addition to all of the classical music and other unconventional genres.
#748
You have no idea how much love the kiwis have for UB40 over the years, heck I wouldn't be surprise if that love hasn't diminished given how they still occasionally chart over there with new material and the odd greatest hits package.
#747
This was slightly more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the digital sales had been fully incorporated over there when this was released as opposed to them not being fully implemented over here. It was also the bigger album for them over their debut, meaning that they ultimately preferred this over that which wasn't the case in their native America.
#746
From what I can gather, Mariane Faithful was nothing more than tabloid fodder during her supposed heyday in the 60's given her highly published relationship with Mick Jagger. Fast forward a decade and she finally scored a massive hit in NZ of all places with this album which encouraged us Aussies to follow suit in making her find success as a musician.
#745
This was almost a flop for J-Lo over in NZ given how the singles massively underperformed over there, however much like the rest of the world, it received a boost in popularity once the "remixes" of some of its songs became popular which led to an entire album of her commissioning remixes of each of the songs that was released the following year to massive success.
#744
Unlike in Australia where this greatest hits album overlooking U2's 90's output was considerably less successful than their album looking over their 1980's output, in NZ both albums were equally as successful as each other despite the band clearly having more success in the 80's over there compared to the 90's.
#743
It's hard to say if this was a hit in Australia on our digital charts given how it was released prior to when we began tracking what was popular in that format, what I do know is that this was a massive hit for Corinna Bailey Rae in NZ and her native UK thanks to how joyous and happy this RNB ballad remains to this day. It was unfortunately her only hit as her debut album failed to catch on despite this song's success.
#742
This is the final hit that Lenny Kravitz managed to achieve anywhere in the world, mainly because it came from a highly successful greatest hits album where it was a bonus track from said album. Obviously, this was meant to ensure fans that he was still on top of his A-game, however that wasn't the case in the long run given how he's failed to achieve any success after this.
#741
I guess the kiwis weren't able to take this ballad as seriously as we Aussies were, likely due to the video which sees her playing her piano while green screened onto what I'm guessing is someone's footage of a road trip they took across America. It did last quite a while on their charts like it did over here, however with all the stiff competition it had over here, it was largely on the lower half of their charts.
#740
This wasn't quite as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, likely due to how much of an obvious novelty it was given that it was a song about playing computer games was the hot new thing to do going into the 80's. Then again, the gaming industry has only grown since this song was released as a single, meaning that it's arguably more popular now than it was back in the day.
#739
This was the showstopper from Elaine Paige for the show Cats, somehow the kiwis preferred Barbra Streisand's version of the track which suggests there was a possibility that she would play the role of Grizabella at some point which as far as I'm aware, never wound up happening. This must have encouraged the kiwis to make her greatest hits package of the same name a success over there.
#738
This was a massive hit in NZ this year, although it was only due to it being a sleeper hit here in Australia from the previous year as this was a flop in the duo's native UK upon its initial release two years prior. This was the last big hit over there to come from the Celtic subculture for the rest of the 80's.
#737
This was the biggest hit that Che Fu had in his entire career, this includes his run with Supergroove even though those songs provide stiff competition for that title for the rapper/RNB star. The success of this lead single to his second solo album led to said album becoming a massive hit for him during the first half of the decade.
#736
Given how many hits this debut album from Adeaze managed to spawn in their homeland, it would've been bizarre had the album failed to become a hit over there like it did for the duo. Even with all of this success however, the duo didn't release another album for the rest of the decade and only did so in 2011 when their hype had long died out.
#735
While this wasn't an immediate success for Cyndi Lauper in NZ like it was here in Australia, it was popular long enough over there for it to qualify for my site for one last time proving that there was still plenty of love for her that the kiwis had around this time. That love wouldn't carry her any further as her third album would be a huge failure by the end of the decade due to her becoming more mature in her music.
#734
While their debut album wasn't that big of a hit over in NZ, this sophomore effort from the Dutch group Pussycat managed to be a massive success due to it spawning two gigantic hits for them over there. To think these guys were a mere one hit wonder here in Australia and with a song that doesn't even appear on this album.
#733
For whatever reason, this breakup song from Rose Royce was slightly delayed with its release here in Australia, that wasn't the case in NZ where it was released on time for the band that gave us "Car wash" two years prior. As such, it became an even bigger success over there likely because the kiwis had already made them a huge success earlier in the decade with more than one hit.
#732
This was only slightly bigger in NZ than their debut single (which we'll look at shortly) I'm guessing the world wanted a more upbeat track from these guys than their smoother RNB that kickstarted their career. Interestingly, this wasn't released as a single in their native America until after they had a number one hit with "I adore mi amor," meaning they had two ballads over there before they had an upbeat track.
#731
Well, the success kept on coming for Richard Clayderman in NZ, I told you this guy was inescapable throughout the 80's over there.
#730
I would've been shocked if this song wasn't a success over in NZ considering A: how inescapably 2Pac was over there throughout the 90's and B: it was produced by Eminem as well as featuring a chorus from Elton John. This remains the rappers final hit to date as it appears that death had finally caught up with his career by this point in time, although he had a good run in the mainstream from the afterlife.
#729
While this wasn't as successful for BEP in NZ as it was here in Australia (admittedly three consecutive chart toppers from the group was a bit overkill back in the day) it was nonetheless a massive success for the group thanks to what many believe (me included) to be a stellar performance from Fergie as well as it being the best example of their love ballads in their catalogue.
#728
This is another entry whose appearance feels more in line with how popular it was over here in Australia, in this case it's the debut single of Uncle Kracker as a lead artist given how he was only known as Kid Rock's turntablist prior to the release of this adult contemporary ballad. Unlike in Australia where he scored a second hit in 2010, he remains a one hit wonder over in NZ.
#727
This was a massive success in NZ this year, likely because again, the kiwis didn't allow album sales to affect the popularity of singles from said albums back in the day. This means that this fourth single from the Saturday night fever soundtrack was the second biggest hit from the album as opposed to the fourth biggest like it was here in Australia.
#726
While the first Bat out of hell album wasn't as inescapable in NZ as it was in Australia, that didn't prevent the second edition from being a massive success over there given how the lead single became one of the biggest hits of the decade for Meat loaf like it did everywhere else in the world.
#725
This was more of a success for Akon in NZ than it was here in Australia, it's only fitting given how RNB was far more accessible over there than it was over here throughout music history. That said, Akon didn't have that much luck with the singles on here, presumably because the kiwis felt they were too gimmicky to become massive hits like they were internationally.
#724
This was more of a success in NZ than it was in Australia, likely due to the album rebounding when their biggest hit was released as a single which is something that didn't happen for the band down under. Indeed, they would struggle to find success after this album aside from a few singles here and there, although they had better luck internationally.
#723
This was even more of a success for Jay Sean over in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis really wanted a new prince of RNB and were willing to give this guy a shot given how he managed to recruit Lil Wayne on the track which they recognised for his hit single "Lollipop" from the previous year. It was also released much sooner over there likely for the same reason as its success.
#722
This is the only hit that funk band Parliament were able to achieve outside of their native America, although fans of Dee lite may recognise this as Bootsy Collin's band given how the bassist appears in their one and only hit "Groove is in the heart" technically making him a two hit wonder over there.
#721
Unlike in Australia where these guys had some buzz thanks to Triple J heavily promoting them back in the day, they only managed to crossover to NZ purely thanks to them having a surprise hit over in America with "Glycerine" which incidentally was the only song of theirs to chart in NZ back in the day. I think the kiwis know these guys best nowadays for Gavin Rossdale who married Gwen Stefani shortly after this time.
#720
I guess the kiwis also wanted to hear Barbra Streisand return to her roots as a Broadway performer during this phase of her career, as such she scored a huge comeback with this album over there which wasn't the case for its sequels she's since released over the years.
#719
The kiwis seemed to be as much in love with this debut album from Kate Bush as we Aussies were back in the day; in fact, its success is more or less identical over there to what it was here which means I unfortunately don't have any new commentary to add here.
#718
This was another successful album to come from Wings in NZ this decade, there's not much more I can say about the band at this point as their popularity was inescapable throughout the decade worldwide due to the presence of Paul McCartney as well as their music withstanding the test of time.
#717
This proved to be more of a success in NZ than it was in Australia, mainly for the singles which were much more successful over there for Diesel than they were over here for some reason. Although this was a massive success over there for the Australian rocker, it proved to be the last the kiwis would hear from him as his subsequent follow ups would be massive failures over there as opposed to moderate hits here.
#716
This was a massive hit for the Crash test dummies over in NZ, more so than it was in Australia despite their big crossover hit not being as big over there as it was over here. Indeed, the singles were less successful overall due to their only other charting hit failing to become a success over there like it was in their native Canada.
#715
Even though this wasn't quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, it appears the kiwis were still impressed with Taylor cosplaying as a Disney princess on her first international hit to make it a success over there from her second album. Even though she was slightly more popular here than she was over there, said popularity would be equal in both countries and indeed the rest of the world in the 2010's.
#714
I guess the kiwis weren't as on board with this song as the rest of the world was as though it was a hit for BEP over there, it was considerably less popular there than it was here in Australia given how it didn't even reach the number one spot there. I've heard it be described as little more than fragments of
other songs from the quartet that they felt didn't fit into those tracks and instead mashed together here.
#713
This is another entry whose placement on this list better reflects how popular it was back in the day here in Australia, suffice to say, it's because of these entries that I wanted to present what was popular in NZ on this site as I always found their charts to be much better than ours for this reason. I guess a side effect of this not being as successful down under was that the response track was a huge hit here which wasn't the case in NZ.
#712
MC Lyte had been active in the hip hop game since the late 80's when she was a teenager, so to see her finally score a hit in NZ and her native America almost a decade after breaking through must have been a pleasant surprise for those rooting for her at the time. Indeed, this was an excellent time for women rappers as she was one of several MC's this year to score success this year.
#711
Even though everyone involved on this track was American, this was originally a hit in the UK before it crossed over to their native America which was a fairly common trend for American artists throughout the 90's. There was little doubt this would be an even bigger success in NZ considering how they were essentially the RNB equivalent of Black Box, right down to having controversies with Martha Walsh.
#710
Before he was the lead singer of Noiseworks, Jon Stevens was a teen pop idol in his native NZ who managed to score two massive hits over there with his earlier work. This was the bigger of the two hits which he scored during the transition of the 70's to the 80's.
#709
For what it's worth, this guy was a massive deal in NZ during the era of the Listener charts (charts that existed prior to the RIANZ charts for the uninitiated) meaning that this hit wasn't a complete surprise for them at the time. Still the fact that it was one of the biggest hits of the decade over there must have been something to behold in retrospect.
#708
I guess Disturbed were equally as successful in NZ as they were here in Australia given how this album managed to be a massive hit for them this year in both countries, indeed their 2015 comeback was also a massive success over there like it was here (impressive for a rock band) even without the success of their cover of "The sound of silence" over there.
#707
I guess Whitney going urban in the 90's might have something to do with her failing to score much success with her singles this decade internationally, oh sure she had a string of Billboard chart toppers with her first two albums but her second album only spawned one hit for her outside of her native America. Admittedly the album was still a massive success so it's not like she was failing here or anything.
#706
It looks like the kiwis were also waiting patiently for that fourth solo album from Lionel Richie, just like the rest of the world they got bored waiting as it was a massive flop when it finally came out later in the decade, meaning this greatest hits album was the final success he had anywhere in the world.
#705
This felt like a good place for Eminem to call it quits in the hip hop game given how much of a critical disaster his previous album was, indeed, he was all set in this being the last album he released given how his next album came out of nowhere four years later and didn't see nearly the success that his previous work had. Naturally the kiwis were as on board with this career trajectory as the rest of the world was.
#704
Well so much for Stan Walker being one of the biggest names of the 2010's in Australia, although he was one of the biggest names of the decade in his native NZ despite him winning AUSTRALIAN idol which no doubt led to the cancelation of that series due to it being the final straw for when it came to controversies that came from it.
#703
This was the song which finally made AC/DC a household name in NZ, again likely due to how distinct it is from the rest of their catalogue which I'm guessing is what the kiwis needed to finally give them a hit over there. The band had little trouble finding success after this given how their album was not only a huge success over there but so were the singles and even some of their other songs from the 90's.
#702
This was a success in NZ slightly sooner than it was here in Australia, this means that it was the kiwis love for this ballad that allowed it to become one of the biggest hits of the decade for the American band Sonia dada. I still feel this is more of an Australian hit considering A: it wound up being bigger here in the long run and B: both the album and their second single were hits here when they weren't over there.
#701
Although there won't be any other entries form Australian idol contestants on this side of my site, I should bring up that this victory single from Guy Sebastian is a better representation of how well it did here in Australia back in the day given how the kiwis obviously liked this song beyond the reason of its existence. As such, it had a much better chart run over there and no doubt led to the success of NZ idol months later.
